At least it's not about reheating yesterday's dinner, but about two opposing cognitive systems, which has been identified and named by psychologist Walter Mischel.
. The "cool" ("cool") and "hot" ("hot") system, as they are referred to, Mischel noticed in the process of self-observation as he struggled with his attempts to quit smoking. In addition, he conducted a famous study in which Marshmallows were placed in front of children.
The experiment was to see how the children would handle temptation. Would they reach for the marshmallow right away, or would they defer gratification and eat later. What was to encourage them to wait? Well, when the children endured a certain amount of time without eating a marshmallow, the psychologist would bring another one.
Thus, the longer the children held out to avoid being tempted by the sweet, the more sweets they got. During children's struggles with temptation, psychologists closely observed how they coped to avoid eating the marshmallow that was right in front of their noses. Some looked away or covered their eyes with their hands, others engaged in singing, drawing, picking their noses, and still others licked the marshmallow then put it back, telling themselves it was unpalatable or dirty.
These are just particular ways to defer gratification, ways of "hot" or "cool" systems..
In the case of the children in the experiment who were able to refrain from eating the marshmallow, the "cool" system, which plays a major role in the process of self-control, worked.
It is managed by the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus..
It is: emotionally indifferent, cognitive, complex, slow and contemplative. It generates rational and strategic behavior. In contrast, the "hot" system works. It prevailed in children who were tempted by sweets.
The "hot" system is disposed of by the amygdala body.
It is fast, emotional and highly adaptive. It is the one that, at the moment of danger, decides whether to flee or fight (known as "fight or flight"). It is also the one that decides whether to succumb to temptation when the cool system prevails. Once you understand how both systems work, you can learn to use them to your advantage. This is because some goals or cravings need to be "cooled" and some need to be "heated". In the case of the marshmallow experiment, undoubtedly the winners (not in terms of calories) were the children, who "cooled down" their temptation, so that in the end they had more marshmallows. When we save money, and we are tempted to buy another pair of shoes on sale, it would also be useful to "cool down" the system. You can do it the same way as the kids and look away from the store, or you can go home in a more sophisticated way and work out the pros and cons of the purchase.
The degree of sophistication of the method is not important, what is important is that it is effective and distances us from the craving.
When is it useful to have a "hot" system that deceived children into temptation with foam? For destinations very far away, it is essential! When we are saving up for a dream trip to Australia, and at current earnings, the possibility of a trip appears within a minimum of two decades,
It is useful for us to "warm up" the craving from time to time, that is, to get emotionally aroused to it, to make it less abstract and distant.
Watch movies about Australia, imagine yourself on the streets of Sydney, hang pictures of koalas and kangaroos at home. All tricks allowed. As you can see, both systems are extremely important and functional. They can facilitate a lot in life when you understand their "working methodology" and test how they work for each of us. Interestingly, when the children of the marshmallow experiment were studied after many years, it was found that those who deferred gratification longer in all sorts of ways and gained more marshmallows were happier in life, had more successful private lives and jobs , and higher earnings.
Walter Mischel himself eventually quit smoking, so his theory can be safely trusted!
by Martyna Wrona-Marchel, psychologist
Our Posts
Find out how you can support your and your loved ones' mental health on a daily basis.
Join over 15,000 satisfied patients!
On depression.
Wiktor Buczek, lekarz psychiatra
July 26, 2024
Stressful situations and civilization and diet-related diseases of the 21st century.
Lesya Sowińska, psychodietetyk, interwent kryzysowy
May 24, 2022
In pandemi are we aging faster?
Dorota Strzelec, Psycholog, Coach, Interwent kryzysowy, Doradca zawodowy
August 10, 2020
Martyna Wrona-Marchel
Psychologist, Psychotherapist in training, Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapist (CBT),
To arrange an appointment with this doctor, please contact us by phone at 22 24 12 444 or by e-mail at kontakt@cpp.pl